Reconstruction
by Amythista
Summary: "Can you teach me?" Reality is altered in an instant.
1. Chapter 1

Found this while looking through old papers I wrote during the year, and typed it up. I like it, and I hope you will, too. It's intended to be a oneshot, but...-shrugs- If anyone wants it continued, let me know. It might be interesting...

If I owned FMA...oh, if I owned FMA...-dreamy look-

* * *

Why is it that in a single instant, fate can be completely altered? A simple child's curiosity can change the fate of a household, a rebellion, a nation. Perhaps even the world.

It is the child's curious insomnia that leads a stove to catch fire, spreading to the rest of the house. A child venturing out just a step too far, caught in an accidental fire, provides the perfect cover for a bloody genocide that kills millions. And a lonely child, curious as to what her friends are leaving her out of _this_ time, may find herself, years later, in a very different position- all that she _knows _in a very different position- than where she would be had just four words not exited her naive mouth.

Silence hangs like a thick blanket over the room, a slight _skritch-scratch_ing on the floor and the occasional rustle of dusty pages only blending into the room's somber aura. A small girl peeks in through the doorway, pink sundress fluttering slightly around her small knees. Her blonde eyebrows scrunch together as her clear and innocent blue eyes travel from the circle patiently being drawn onto the floor, to a small vial bubbling quietly in the corner, to the concentration on her friends' faces.

"What are you doing?"

Her quiet question breaks through the fog, and the other occupants of the room make small noises of surprise before looking up at the girl, framed by the early-morning light in the hallway.

"Ah-Winry!" A book drops with a soft _thump _as it hits the floor, and the youngest occupant of the room jumps up, a wide grin on his face. The boy on the floor looks up and offers a small smile before returning to his masterpiece. "We weren't expecting you so soon."

The simplicity of the room and the dusty tomes of books command quiet, even if no one is quite sure why anymore. The room has a quiet sense of tension, of a secret that begins _somewhere…_and the boys try their hardest to uncover it.

Soon enough, they will. Even more than they realize.

"But what're you doing?" the girl prompts again, holding her elbows and moving to crouch near the circle the older boy is working so patiently on.

"We're studying." He responds, standing up now that his work is complete. "Here, wanna watch?"

The girl nods, and he nods to his brother, who looks at him for confirmation for a few moments before his eyes brighten and he turns to rummage for something on a nearby table.

"Don't wake mom," his older brother warns as a stirring stick of some sort drops to the floor with a _clunk. _The younger brother nods, still searching the table, before straightening with a smile and handing a large piece of paper to his brother. The elder boy nods his thanks before turning with a slightly worried look to the curious girl.

"It's like we did for your birthday last year," he says, scratching the back of his neck nervously. "Promise you won't…freak out?"

She glares at him with determination blazing in her eyes, back straightened considerably. "Okay!"

And the older brother smiles and places the paper in the center of the circle, motioning for his brother to crouch down beside him. "Now, watch."

They clap their hands down onto the circle, producing a blue light of energy that sparks and jumps around them. A _whooshing _sound whirls around her, and she resists the urge to cover her face as vibration seem to push all the energy in the room towards the pulsing circle-

And, as quickly as it started, it's over. She straightens and peers at the paper, which, to her surprise, is now an elegantly folded swan. The brothers grin at her proudly.

Perhaps somewhere, in another time, another reality, she would have laughed and applauded and dragged her friends outside into the warm summer air, to run and play, and have a picnic with their families come lunchtime. Perhaps there, the brothers would leave in a few short years, appearances drastically altered. Perhaps she would wait for months and months for a single message, a word that they were alive…

But here, in this time, this reality, four words exit her mouth.

"Can you teach me?"

And, just like that, the reality is drastically altered.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Yup, I'm continuing this. ^^ Thanks for all the support, guys! I don't want to bore you with a long author's note, so all the information is in my profile. This is going to be my first long storyline, and I'm really excited! Oh, and a poll's going to be posted soon, so please vote. :) Oh, and review. Reviews are good, too.

* * *

9/16/03

Most four and five year olds spen their days running about with their friends. Laughing, rolling, tagging, shouting, chattering...and three children can hear their playmates have fun without them as they sit in a quiet room; eyebrows furrowed with more concentration then some adults, and study the most powerful science in the world.

"Ugh, this is hard!" Winry finally complains loudly, successfully breaking the concentrated silence as she sits up and scowls at the lopsided circle that she has just scrawled out. Ed, slightly annoyed at the disturbance, looks up from his book and glances at the chalky mess. He frowns, and then lets out a resigned sigh.

"Practice just drawing circles," he instructs her, reluctantly setting down his book and moving to crouch next to his pouting friend. "No runes or anything. Kay?"

Winry nods, vaguely annoyed about her failure, and sets about her task. He gets up and returns to his book, glancing up occasionally to check on her slow progress. His critical comments eventually induce an annoyed retort from Winry, and the two bicker until Alphonse, sighing, throws pieces of chalk at them. This brings about a chalk fight that delays the lessons until they convince Trisha to take them into town so they could buy more.

The Elric brothers had, after some prodding from their mutual friend, agreed to teach her the basics of alchemy. Ed had grumbled at first, but he was now enjoying this rare opportunity to- for lack of a better word- show off. Even Winry has to admit that he _is _very good at the strange science, and while his obvious pride is annoying, it's nice to see Ed in what appears to be his element.

Opening up the new packet of chalk they just bought, Winry glances to the eldest brother, who is still absorbed in his book. Her gaze lingers until she feels a hand on her shoulder and a surprised squeak escapes her lips.

"Sorry to startle you, Winry!" Al says, quickly removing his hand. "Can I have a piece of chalk?"

Winry nods and digs her fingers into the packet, eventually managing to pull out a white stick, and hands it to him. He nods his thanks, then takes up his usual place on the floor and begins to draw, tongue poking out of the corner of his small mouth.

Winry smiles at him, and then turns to the older brother, expression becoming thoughtful.

"Hey, Ed?"

He doesn't even bother to look up. "Mm?" he replies, half-listening.

"Why do we always use chalk to draw the circles?" she wonders aloud as she takes a piece for herself and begins to draw the customary shapes.

Ed shrugs half-heartedly, eyes remaining on the texts. "I dunno...it's easier to wash off, I guess. Mom'd get mad if it was permanent." Now Winry is the one who half-listens, her breath hitching as she carefully finishes her masterpiece. She stares at it for a few seconds.

"I did it!" she yelps excitedly, a huge grin spreading on her face. Both brothers look up and go to crouch next to her, examining her work. Al laughs happily as Ed stares at the circle, a hint of disbelief in his eyes.

"Not bad for an automail geek," he mutters.

Winry glances at him, noticing the slight defeat in his eyes. She offers a small smile and bumps her shoulder against his playfully.

"Don't worry, alchemy geek," she replies fondly. "I'm not taking over your spot."

She catches a hint of a smile in return, but he stands up and the moment is lost.

"Well, Win, looks like you can transmute now. But _first,_ I think you'd better practice drawing the circles more..."

Winry groans.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I'm so sorry for the wait on this chapter! Eighth grade's a little more insane than I anticipated...this is totally unbeta'd and really sucky, so I'll be sure to send to to my beta shortly...hopefully she's not upset with me. ^^;; Enjoy chapter 3!

* * *

The room is still. Edward has a book open in front of him, but he is unable to do anything but stare blankly at the page, mind in shock. Alphonse has given up on studying altogether, and he lies on the floor and stares at the overhead lamp above him, not really seeing it.

"I can't believe they're gone," he whispers, breaking the somber silence. There is a shuffling noise as Ed scoots over to sit next to him. Without a word, he reaches over to ruffle his younger brother's hair.

"Yeah," is all he says. The two ware silent for a few minutes.

"Brother, is there-"

"We should go see Winry."

Al sits up and looks at Ed, surprised that his brother had suggested it before he had. "Um, yeah. Okay."

"Granny?" Al calls as he peeks into the Rockbell house. "Winry?"

There is the sound of footsteps, and moments later, Pinako Rockbell stands in front of them, face worn and eyes weary. "Hello, boys." Even her voice sounds tired. "Winry's in her room, but I doubt she wants to see anyone."

"But-" Al protests, but Ed cuts him off. "Let us in!"

The elder Rockbell opens her mouth to speak, but she takes a closer look at their stubborn faces and closes it again. The brothers stare up at her, golden eyes wide and narrowed, pleading and expectant.

"Fine," she grumbles after a pause. "But she's got her wrench up there with her. Don't come crying to me if she knocks your brains out."

Ed's eyes widen. "Uh, maybe we should come back-"

"C'mon, Brother." Al growls, grabbing his squirming brother by the collar and dragging him up the stairs.

* * *

Despite the bright sun blaring outside in the meadows and hills of Resembool, no light seeps out from Winry's room. Ed and Al stare at the dark wooden door, and Al hears Ed slowly exhale, as though calming himself.

"Winry?" Ed calls, lightly rapping on the door. As expected, there is no response.

"Winry?" Al tries, raising his voice slightly. "It's us."

No response.

"Can you please open the door?"

This time, there is a slight pattering noise, and the door opens to reveal Winry's small, tired face, red from crying.

"What do you want?" she asks with a voice choked in concealed sobs as she wipes at her nose, avoiding their eyes.

Al bites his lip. "We just wanted to see if you were okay…"

"Go 'way," she mumbles, turning to head back into her room. "M'fine." She sniffles, thereby proving otherwise.

Ed clenches his teeth, bothered by her behavior and frustrated with his ability to comfort her. "You're not."

"You haven't talked to us since-" Al catches himself. "You haven't talked to us in a while. Not to play, not to study-"

"What's the point?" she responds quietly. The two boys are momentarily speechless, and Ed's expression quickly grows concerned. "What-"

"You said human transmutation is forbidden. It can't bring them back."

"You don't know tha-" Al starts, and Winry whirls on him, tear-filled blue eyes flashing.

"That's what you said! It's forbidden! Science hasn't done it, we can't do it, and nothing you two do is going to help! It's pointless!"

"Hold on!" Ed argues. "It's _forbidden! _Not impossible! Maybe we _can _bring them back! I read about something called a homunculus, and those have been talked about for centuries, so-"

"And alchemy helps people!" Al interrupts, shooting his brother a look. "It does good for us!"

"If it helps people, why can't we use it to bring my mom and dad back?"

"Maybe we can." Ed responds, sighing. "We'll study. We'll figure out a way. Okay?"

Winry's lip quivers, and she dashes forward and let her sobs break loose as she flings her arms around them, each caught in a one-armed hug.

"We'll help," soothes Al quietly, rubbing her back. He shoots a look to his brother, who quickly responds. "Yeah, we'll help. All right?"

Winry raises her tear-stained face to stare at him with imploring blue  
eyes. "You promise?"

Ed reddened under her gaze but firmly nodded. "Promise."

She takes a deep, shuddering breath and relaxes, relinquishing her grip on them as she wipes her eyes. "Thanks, you guys..."

Ed rubs the back of his neck and attempts a grin. "S'all right."

* * *

The remains arrive a few days later, along with solemn soldiers that Pinako ignores until they leave. It seems that the whole town came  
out for the funeral (and, given the size of the town, that's quite possible.) Winry, Pinako, and the Elrics stand in the front of the crowd, listening to the preacher talk as the crowd stands solemnly on the grassy plain that serves as Resembool's graveyard. A baby's cry is quieted with a bottle, a few coughs are heard, the wind rustles the grasses, and the preacher talks in a low tone, but otherwise the evening is completely silent.

The coffins are sealed tightly, hiding behind the glossy wood the bloody messes that were once Sara and Urey Rockbell. Everyone knows it, and they all avert their eyes. Al doesn't dare to look, either, remembering with a pang of sadness the kind Rockbell couple he considered family.

He notices with a start that his friend's shoulders are vibratingdangerously. He nudges his brother and points at the girl, motioning for Ed to do something. His older brother's eyes widens as he opens his mouth, and Al glares at him. Ed purses his lips and, glancing at the coffins, cautiously moves his hand to touch Winry's elbow. Al slips an arm around her shoulders. She glances at him, then Ed, then back at the coffins. She inhales sharply and began to cry, quiet sobs echoing around the plain.

The sound of the Rockbell's young daughter's sobs seems to set off a chain reaction, and soon the graveyard is filled with the sound of sniffling and quiet crying. Winry muffles her sobs into Ed's shoulder, not daring to watch as the coffins are lowered into the ground.

When the two broken families parts ways to return to their respective homes, Ed leans in to whisper a fleeting memory, a promise:

_"We're going to bring them back, remember?"_

Winry is left only with a burning resolve, one that dries all tears she has left to shed.


End file.
